Lesson!

After cancelling last night's lesson due to rain, I rescheduled for today at 12.

Luke let me catch him right away in the pasture, but was a pain to tack up. Seriously, I'm never motivated to ride him anymore and it's because I'm sick of dealing with his crap on the ground. I've tried everything. He pulled back and snapped a cross tie snap in half. In half. The metal literally snapped. I give up. Oy.

He was hyped up when I got on...it was all I could do to get him to stand while I got on, and then we had crazy hyper walk on speed. He settled though, eventually. And focused, sort of. The arena was kind of muddy, but oh well. I do miss having an indoor, but I'll live :) Luke was actually more focused than he's been sometimes. I was keeping my back really tense today...I don't know if that's a new thing, or if it explains my back pain.

We trotted, and worked on keeping him focused and off the forehand, and using his butt. It's hard too because he doesn't respond to my leg. I'm going to start carrying a crop and insist on crisper transitions...he needs to go when I say, not when he feels like it. Then we moved on to canter...I don't know what my deal is with cantering, but I feel so insecure anymore. Started on the left lead, and it was okay..he broke to a trot a couple times, but I think he just needs more strength. And to actually ride the canter and not just sit there. He got all his leads correct today, which makes me really happy. Yay! I think it was a me issue, not a him issue. Either way, I'm glad it seems to be fixed! I'm not sure how much I'll get to ride this winter, but I'll at least try to as much as I can. I want to keep him moving forward. Then in the spring, lesson/training package, and hopefully truck and trailer by February ish.

We jumped a little crossrail too, and Luke was fine. I love my new standards...way better than buckets, especially since the poles are pvc..they don't fall off of the standards quite as easily.

I'm glad I got a lesson in...maybe not as productive as if I'd been riding more frequently, but at least it pushed me in the right direction. If I get a truck and trailer, I'll try to find an indoor to go to once every week or something like that. I'm proud of Luke..I just wish I could ride him as well as he deserves. Maybe someday!

Lightbulbs! And mini trials!

First off, I got my ride times for the mini trial this weekend. I have nice late times, which is nice...I'm used to getting up at 5 a.m.! I ride Dressage at 2:36, Stadium at 4:30 and XC at 5:30 - woohoo! :)

On Tuesday, I had the best ride on Luke I've possibly ever had. It was incredible...he was reaching for the bit (his new happy mouth), was transitioning without fussing at all, actually bending around my leg instead of blowing me off...it was so nice! I paid for it yesterday though, my wrist was killing me. So I bought a separate brace to ride in and last night it didn't hurt so bad.

I had an awesome lesson last night! I rode in my dressage bridle and saddle to get myself acclimated to it again. I lengthened my stirrups a hole, which helped, and we got some very nice work. I think if he goes like this at South Farm, we have a pretty good chance of doing well. I've been cautioned to not panic if my warmup doesn't go well at first - just keep riding him through it until I get the bend and stretch I'm looking for. I think we'll be okay - we get to go schooling on Saturday, which I'm really excited about - Luke hasn't jumped any XC stuff except for little logs since last fall...oh dang! But 12" won't be too bad.

I can't believe it's so soon - I haven't started packing ANYTHING yet. Or given him a bath...it's too hard to do one handed... *sigh*... :) Maybe I'll just rub him down with baby wipes...he smells disgusting from his fly spray anyway! Molly is coming over tomorrow night and we're going to pack all of my stuff up into her car, and then off we go on Saturday morning. Wish us luck! I can't wait to see Gwen, Lis, and Jen too...we're having a mini exracers picnic...yay!

You take one step forward and two steps back...

It feels like it anyway!

I had a great lesson on Monday...actually they've all been great lately. Unfortunately, I can't achieve that same greatness when I ride by myself. It sure doesn't feel like it anyway. We just walked and trotted on Monday, but we worked on turns, centerlines, halts...everything I'd need for my test. It went pretty well. Then I took him out in the big pasture and we worked on me keeping his attention and getting actual work in large spaces.

Tuesday, I was all excited to ride, and thought it was going to be the best ride ever. He started out by breaking his halter...which was kind of my fault, I know that I shouldn't cross tie him until we figure this out, but I was in a hurry. I put a rope halter on him and got him to stand semi still while I finished tacking up. The ride went downhill from there. Nothing went right...he wanted to hollow out his back and be an ostrich. The only plus I can think of is that he got his leads. It just spiraled downward though, and I ended the ride in tears. I was freaking out, thinking we were never going to get better, and I was ready to sell him to someone more experienced.

On Wednesday, I woke up feelingi less frustrated. I sent in my mini trial entry and decided to look at it as a learning experience. I went out and played with the boys, but gave Luke a day off from riding. I went to the doctor and discovered I have tendonitis in my wrist, and I have to wear a brace all the time. I'm going to have to buy another one to ride in - I don't want to get this one all dirty.

Last night I went out and got Luke out of the pasture, and tied him with a trailer tie while I tacked him up. He stood relatively still, a little dancing, but no halter breaking. I took him out in the ring, and rode for about 5 minutes before I realized that the bugs were REALLY bothering him. So I took him back inside and used MORE fly spray. I think that did the trick, because he was a little less fussy. I should have put his ear net on though, he was still a little upset. The work we got wasn't nearly as good as my lesson, but it wasn't terrible either. There were a few moments of genuine correct work, and some almost there moments. He was pulling through my halts coming down center line, so we did lots of transitions. I have to go to IN this weekend, so Luke will get three days off...hopefully he won't be a wild man on Monday.

South Farm is in 9 days...yikes!

Woohoo!

It's so exciting to watch Luke improve! (And me!)

I had another lesson on Tuesday. He was actually not herdbound at all, which led me to believe that he was fixed. Yay! But not...yesterday he charged my sister to try to get into his stall, and knocked her over. I wish I would have been there, but maybe it's best I wasn't. He'd have been in BIG trouble. But anyway...back to the lesson!

We walked a little to warm up, then moved into trotting. Luke immediately felt steadier than last month. He was stretching down some even. He's still not collected, but he's more relaxed, and moving like he's going somewhere. Next step is to get him off of my hands...he can carry his own darn self!

My circles still aren't really all that round...I need to seriously work on that. They are improving some though. At least we don't have the giraffe look going anymore! We did some serpentines, which were far better than they used to be! And my canter work...the right lead is falling into place! Yay! He picked it up 5 out of 6 times in a row, and the mess up was my fault. He started to rush the trot, and I got flustered, and off we went on the wrong lead. Towards the end of my lesson when we cantered again, he was tired, and so was I, and we had a little trouble getting it, but nothing like usual...it's all starting to come together!

We did a little jump, just 12" or so. He's unimpressed. He refuses to trot over it...he prefers to trot THROUGH it...so I'm going to have to find some wood poles to mix in too. Cantering it though, he made it over every time...knocked it down a few times though. Oh well...we're learning.

We're going to South Farm next month, I can't wait! I'm just going to do intro I think, but I can't wait to see if my dressage has improved! I'll be bummed if it doesn't, because he FEELS so much better! And as far as jumping...I just wanna make it around the course without knocking anything over! There's always next year to move up a level! Then Grand River's Hunter Pace is the next weekend...yay!

Lesson!

The rain held off, and I got to have my lesson, so I was a very happy girl!

I got a call on Monday from the new barn owner, telling me that my horse was very smart. Never a good thing to hear. He figured out how to escape from the one pasture. There's a 4 foot "gate" that's just one strand of un-electrified tape - the only part of the pasture that's not electric. I was worried about him figuring it out. So until they figure out what to do to make it more secure, he and Jodi moved to another pasture. I actually like this one better. It has a couple of big trees for shade, not that my horses will use them, and it's connected to the paddock where the other horses go at night, so there's 2 run in sheds.

So I went to the barn yesterday around 7, my lesson was at 7:30. It was just about dinner time, so I put Jodi in his stall to eat, and stuck Luke in the cross ties to tack up. He definitely had ants in his pants. He did NOT want to stand still at all. He only let me pick his front two hooves, and then when I went to pick up one back leg, I think he kicked out, or stomped, and his knee caught my thumb. I heard a pop and had to literally go sit down because I almost passed out. I saw stars...that was the worst pain I've had in a long time. It's still really sore today too. So I didn't pick out his back feet. I threw his saddle on, and waited for my new trainer. When she got there, Luke decided he'd never seen a bridle in his life...throwing his head up, backing up, etc. I figured it was gonna be a horrific lesson.

Once we got out to the arena though, Luke was all business. He's such a good horse. He screamed for Jodi a few times while we were warming up, but once he realized that no one was answering him, he was fine.

We did a long walk warm up with lots of serpentines, circles, figure 8's and changes of direction thrown in. I'm really guilty of just walking aimlessly on the rail to warm up, so it was a good change. I'm really going to work on that. Then we moved to the trot, focusing on pushing him from behind instead of letting him flop around on the forehand. When he was working correctly from behind, he found the bit and was reaching for contact. I could definitely feel him improving from the beginning of the lesson to the end. It was really hot, and I hadn't had dinner, and forgot to bring a water bottle, so true to form, I almost passed out two or three times. I'll be better prepared next time. So we just did a little bit of canter so she could see him go. His left lead felt really nice...he was actually slowing down instead of running around with his head in the air. She told me to pretend my left arm was broken so I wasn't hanging on the inside rein, and voila: less tense rider, less tense horse. The right lead took a few tries to get, but she just had me bring him back to a trot quietly. She said there's no point in teaching him bad transitions, which is all jerking him to a trot will do. She said when I ask him to slow down, not to pull on him with both hands, but to just use my outside rein. Lo and behold, he started slowing down enough that I could sit his trot and ask for the correct lead. He gave it to me that time. We did a few circles on each lead, and then called it a day. I'm really proud of Luke.

I feel like we got a ton out of the lesson, and my only regret is that I won't be able to take them more frequently. I'm gonna shoot for every other week, since I probably will have to stop for the winter.

I can't wait to go ride Luke and keep practicing this stuff!! I'm loving the new barn. Kind of lonely sometimes since I'm the only one riding, and the oldest and only one my age, but it's nice at the same time. My barn time is always relaxing, which I need. And the short drive rocks!

This post is already long, but here are my August goals:

1) Have one more lesson this month.
2) Have a consistent right lead at the end of the month.
3) Ride 4 times a week
4) Work on pushing him from behind
5) Be less tense
6) Have FUN with him!

Show's around the corner!

Yikes! I need to get with the program!

I've been slacking lately when it comes to riding...between working 40 hours a week and feeding horses 3 days a week, I haven't had much energy to ride alone. Thankfully, Molly finished drivers' ed last week, so I'll hopefully have someone to ride with at night!

On Saturday, Jen came over and we had a tack cleaning party...it was a lot of work, but fun! I cleaned and oiled or conditioned my running martingale, 2 bridles, and my saddle. My bridle looks brand new, and my martingale looks amazing too...I'm so glad I made the effort to clean everything!

I had a lesson Wednesday night, and I still love my new saddle. We shortened my stirrups, which helped my leg sliding around problem. We got some nice flat work in, but I was really looking forward to jumping some stuff. But a tornado watch happened just as she was setting up jumps, so we didn't get to jump OR practice my dressage tests. As soon as I was untacked, the storm let up...of course. I have a lesson one night this week, so hopefully he will be good. Probably won't get any jumping in though because we have to practice for the show.

I'm riding him in Intro test B, and Mandi's gonna ride him in Training 1. Cross your fingers for correct leads! I predict they will have no trouble - I'm the one that has trouble getting leads...but it might be better since he got his feet fixed. I haven't really been motivated to practice too much lately. I'll ride tonight, hopefully tomorrow, and Thursday for sure though, and then Friday I'll ride him a little bit and then he'll get a beauty treatment...bath, clipped, and I'll probably band his mane...I think it would look better than attempting braids. Molly and Atticus are showing too, so it should be a fun time :) Luke and Atticus are totally in love, so hopefully they will keep each other calm.

I'm getting excited and nervous all at the same time!

YAY new saddle!

:) :) :) :) :)

I finally got to ride in my new saddle last night. I love it...it fits us both really well and is suuuper comfortable. A way better fit for me than my Wintec was. I might have to punch holes in the stirrup leathers though, which will be a pain, because I have no idea HOW you punch holes evenly in two separate leathers. Oh well...I'm hoping they don't stretch too much and I can keep them on the top hole.

It's weird getting used to leather again...it's kind of creaky, but I love it. I need to clean it well, and my bridle. I don't know that I've EVER cleaned my bridle...EEK! So I'm determined to take better care of it and my saddle from here on out.

Jen came out with me and set up some jumps for me. We warmed up with flatwork and he was really relaxed...more than I've felt him relax in a long time, especially since he hasn't been ridden since I fell last week. He was mostly above the vertical, but he wasn't really flipping his head or anything, so it didn't bother me. It took a few tries because I'm out of shape and haven't been working on it, but we got the right lead! I think I'm gonna stop riding with spurs till I get back in shape. They're just baby spurs, and when my leg muscles are strong, I can keep a steady leg...but right now, I'm slip sliding a little, and I don't want to accidentally get him with them.

Then we JUMPED! Yay :) We did a crossrail with a few strides to a 2' vertical, and he was so cute. He rushed a little at first, but we didn't run out or refuse anything...I need to keep working on looking UP though. She also set up a little arrowhead for us, and he was a star...he was a little confused at first, and tried to jump the side, but once he figured it out, he was good to go. he even went through it pretty straight! Yay!

I have a lesson tonight, so hopefully it goes well. I'll update tomorrow, if I'm not in agony from sore muscles!

Dressage Clinic Update!

We went, we saw, and we conquered! Haha, not really. It was really fun though!

When I got to the farm Saturday morning, Luke was standing in his stall looking all sleepy after breakfast. I pulled him out and stuck him on a lunge line. He was not amused. For the first five minutes, it was like pulling teeth to even get a trot. Then he started cantering and bucking and got most of his excitement out.

We hopped on the trailer (Good boy Luke!), and off we went. When he came off the trailer, he looked around, and promptly started to graze. I stuck him in a stall and went to watch the canter group go. I learned a lot just by watching them.

Then it was our turn. I was nervous because I was afraid Luke was gonna explode, but I shouldn't have been worried. He was a little looky warming up and I thought he was going to explode, but he didn't. After a few minutes of warmup, our group lesson started.

I'm out of shape...or I just don't work hard enough in my riding time at home. I'm used to lots of walk breaks. We trotted for a good ten minutes. Luke wasn't winded, but I sure was. We worked a lot on bending (I did get used as a good example of using my corners though! Even if he was counterbent through them). She said that if I work on lateral flexion first, the rest will come, and he will start to be more supple and through and come into contact better. She said sometimes you have to sacrifice prettyness for accuracy. She said not to worry about him being on the bit, that that will come.

We did some circles, which weren't TOO terrible, but he still wants to speed up to get through them quickly. I should have worn spurs, I could NOT get him off my leg for anything. I wear spurs at home, but I figured I wouldn't need them for the clinic. She said that I just have to convince him that he wants to bend.

We worked on centerlines, and he actually came down centerline pretty straight. I was very proud of him. Then we rode our test. We just did Intro A. It wasn't the best test I've ever done, but it definitely wasn't the worst. It was better than at some shows, and I didn't even practice for Saturday! She said that she would like to see him a little less hollow and tense, and more relaxed, but that it would come with training. She really liked him and said we made a nice pair.

I feel a lot better now that we've gotten out and gone somewhere and it wasn't a disaster! I think the key is just to lunge him before we leave, and make sure he has plenty of time to chill once we get there! Now on to the dressage show at GreyMack on the 27th. I think someone was taking pictures on Saturday, if I get any, I'll post them! :)

In which Luke gets his butt kicked....

Ay yi yi.

Pony has my number. I discovered this on Tuesday night after a lesson that left me in tears. Granted, I was tired, which is never a good thing when combined with stress.

I've been trying really hard to make Luke use himself lately and go on the bit - at least I think I have. My trainer told me Tuesday night that I was still letting him go around la di da with his head in the air, doing a giraffe impression. Ouch. Okay, so we need to improve. We're getting a mirror in the indoor soon - Yay! She also slammed me about my position which seemed to be worse than usual on Tuesday...apparently my horse and I have the same tendency to hollow out our backs....

So, we moved on to canter work - note that this was supposed to be a jumping lesson, because we've been drilling flatwork lately. We'd planned on warming up and doing just a few minutes of flatwork, and going straight to jumping. Good plan...until...

I could. not. get. the. right. lead. It wasn't there....zip. zilch. nada. I mean, sometimes it takes me a couple of tries...but Tuesday night? After 10 wrong leads in a row, there were tears in my eyes. I know that I don't always ask the best, but I also know that Luke knows better.

So my trainer hopped on to see if it was me or him. Much to my surprise, it was him. He was giving her as much crap as he gave me. She would set him up perfectly, and bam. He'd take OFF with his head in the air on the wrong lead. She wanted to get the lead 3 times in a row, and then move on to jumping as a reward for him. He was such a brat...he'd do it perfectly twice, and then the third time, he'd pull out a wrong lead- run away type thing. She got mad. Not abusive, but she raised her voice with him, and stopped him quickly when he'd start off on the wrong lead. A couple steps of backing and then a trot to canter transition. Hmm.....after he realized that she was raising her voice, and not letting him canter on the wrong lead, he was perfect. They did a small course, and then she passed him back to me.

We decided that I wouldn't even try to canter, I'd just trot the jumps and if he landed on the right lead, keep it. He landed on the right lead every single time. So we ended up cantering some little crossrails.

So I learned a very important lesson - hey, that's what I pay her for! I learned that I can't be as nice to him as I have been lately...there's a difference between being nice and letting him get away with murder. I'm not doing him any favors by letting him grow up to be a spoiled brat.

I rode last night and he was on his best behavior - We got the right lead four out of four times, and blew it on the fifth. After two wrong lead takeoffs, I growled at him, and BAM! Right lead...like magic!

Amazing.... :)

Updates!

Oh man...I have so much stuff, I don't even know where to start. So it'll probably be a long, boring entry!

Let's see...last Sunday we went on a trail ride, which is becoming a weekly Sunday occurence. I was supposed to be the responsible adult and say that we should stay inside because it was gonna rain on and off all day, but when Molly said "Look Kim! No clouds!", I couldn't resist...so across the street we went. We meandered over to the trails, and about twenty minutes in, the skies opened up. Sprinkles at first, but it didn't take long before it was flat out pouring. So off we went back home at a good clip. Both the boys were excited to get back to the barn, and were looking at us like "My human is an idiot". So we threw coolers on them, put them in their stalls, ran to Speedway for hot chocolate, and then turned the heat in the lounge way up until we were [mostly] dry. Man it was fun doing chores in wet jeans...not!

Then Monday, he got his teeth done. I feel awful. I knew that they needed done, but they were reallly bad...he actually had cuts on both sides of his mouth. :( Poor baby! So he got a couple days off, and then back to work we went, with much improvement. I had a lesson this past week, and he was wonderful. Lots of trotting and cantering on the bit, and he gave me correct leads, and *sort of* had collected transitions. Progress takes time, I keep telling myself. I should probably not let him gallop around so much on trails...he tends to forget what a slow canter is, and gets heavy on the forehand.

On Friday, I rode for a while before I did chores. Molly and I put up a little crossrail, which we flipped to a vertical later. Luke has figured out that the PVC poles don't really hurt, and that he doesn't have to put forth any effort on little fences. So he halfheartedly trotted/hopped over them, taking them down with us several times. Next time I'm breaking out the wood poles, and leaving his splint boots off, I think. He is actually a really cute jumper when we canter to the jumps, or when they are wood poles. Otherwise, he thinks it isn't worth his time. Molly and I traded and I got to ride Atticus for a little bit...I hope Luke grows up to be like him! He's so even and doesn't speed up like Luke does.

On Saturday, Jodi's old mom came out to visit. It was super fun for her to see him, and it made me feel really good that she kept saying how good he looked. We gave her son a pony ride, and then took a bunch of pictures. I had to do a double take when I logged onto facebook and saw Jodi as her profile picture. He's famous! :) He's such a good soul...even when he's a jerk about stuff. But he'll be 25 on the 30th, so basically, he gets to do whatever he wants :)

Yesterday, we rode in the outdoor, and had fun. Both of the boys were WOUND though...maybe it was the weather? They both pretended that they didn't know how to canter on the correct lead, and were both pulling so hard that it was next to impossible to sit down and canter. I finally gave up, gave him his head, and let him blow off some steam. Once we got that out of the way, it was a good time. I'm so glad I'm riding more, and seeing the boys more.

I was told last night that I need to get some new pictures of Luke, so I'll try to do that in the next week. I took a cute picture on my phone last night of Luke with his head over the stall door, standing by his new stall sign. I'll try to upload it.

Whew! That was loooong!

We have Flying Changes!

So I got spoiled this week, and had 2 lessons - One on Tuesday and then one on Wednesday.

Tuesday's lesson was...interesting. We started on the lunge without reins, and maybe I got too relaxed because I just couldn't get it together after that. I can't support him at all at the posting trot - I lock my hands by the pommel, and I can't keep my leg under me very well.

So my trainer ended up riding him for a while, and he looked so pretty! He's growing up!

Wednesday we tried a different saddle, and I think I kept my leg under myself a bit better. We worked on a couple of jumps on the diagonal. Started with little crossrails that he could trot over, and then moved up to bigger crossrails that he still trotted over, and then made a 12" vertical. By the end, we were able to canter to the jump and way from it, doing figure 8's across the two jumps. We managed a few circuits before I got dizzy and almost passed out..oops. I n eed to learn to not hold my breath, but I don't really think that was totally it. I thought the passing out thing was better but maybe not.

But when Luke didn't land on the right lead, he would do a flying change and fix it himself. Mandi told me that if we were brave, we could just do jumpers, but I don't think I'm quite that brave. I'll stick to mini trials, and HOPEFULLY be able to move up to Baby Beginner Novice by the end of summer.

Now...he just needs to learn to canter better, so he can learn to counter canter, so we can put a cue on that flying change. *sigh*... One step at a time!

In other news, I rode in the outdoor yesterday and he was pretty good. We got some nice canter work in both directions, which was nice, and it was beautiful out!

Update Time!

Wow, it's been a little while since I've updated! It's just been cold and yucky and I haven't been too motivated to ride. I had a lesson last week, and then didn't ride at all after that, and then had another lesson on Tuesday.

Lesson #1 was not my best ride ever. I was stressed out and frustrated about other things and I think that tension was carrying over to Luke. Plus, I just couldn't get my position right. Poor Luke. He really was trying hard to please me and do what he thought I wanted him to. He's such a sweetheart. He's still a little head shy which makes me really sad...I want to know what they did to him to make him that way. He's improved SO much since coming to the new barn though.

On Thursday I hopped on Jodi bareback for a little bit. I love that old man, he's such a sweetheart. We mostly just walked with a little bit of trot. On Sunday when I was bringing horses in, he was going nuts out in the pasture. Full out galloping...I didn't know he could still move that fast. He stretched his neck out and got low to the ground and everything. Melissa got some great pictures that I'll try to get uploaded. He paid for it though, I think, cuz he was off last night. Not bad, just pretty stiff. So Melissa walked him around for a while when I was riding Luke.

Lesson #2(Last night) was 100% better than last week'sl. I had a better mindset going in, and I was really focused. I also rode him in his new bit, a KK ultra, and I think it's really going to work out well. We did some trotting, and he's really starting to accept contact nicely, it feels great. We also started a little bit of shoulder-out at the walk, and he's doing much better than I thought he would. It also really seemed to help him stretch out. I got some great canter work on his left lead, and his right lead is improving. He picks it up correctly every time on the lunge line, so I guess I'm just not asking right. We're getting better though.

I am so happy with the barn...everything is better than I thought it would be, everyone is super friendly, I'm so glad to be getting back into regular lessons, and it's awesome to see the horses more. I can't wait until nice weather where I can ride outside, go trail riding, and start to think about summer shows. It will be great!